Lacour Forever
by TheTradgedistWhoBecameALover
Summary: An autistic man. A true story. A inspiring experience
1. The Beginning

The Beginning

The door swung both ways, but he didn't bother to come in. Something was telling me he was scared and confused. By the time I went back outside to help him he had already backed off from me.

"No Dias I don't want to go inside, I want to be outside where it's warm!" Lacour yelled.

"Lacour how many times must I tell you that it's safe inside, all we're doing is playing a little game? You love to play games…right?"

He stood there with a finger on his head and looking down at the ground.

Most people that came in looked at him as an outcast. He is my brother, and nothing will ruin that. Just then a woman passed by with a puppy in her hands. Lacour reached out to pet it.

The woman stopped and raised her eyebrows. "Is something wrong with you son?"

Lacour knew better then to invade one's space, but since he loved puppies he forgot. "That's a very pwetty dog you have theme ma'am. I just want to touch him."

She saw him as danger and immediately went inside. That was a typical response for most people. Not knowing what to do Lacour sat down on the chair and started to hit him on the head. "It's not fair, why do people look at me as being different?"

I tried comforting him but he backed off again and hit me in the face.

"How do you know what I'm going through?" he complained.

"Lacour believe me, there is nothing you could do to prevent this from ever happening. I have a harder time excepting you for this. "

We sat there for another hour watching people come and go.

Lacour was twenty two but acted like nine. It's not that he's autistic; rather it's an unknown form that doctors can't quite name. Our parents made both of us move out of the house by the time I was sixteen and he was ten. He didn't know why mom and dad wanted us out. Instead he laughed at whenever they mentioned not wanting to see him again. Dana, his sister, had to move out earlier because of an incident with her ex-boyfriend…well soon to be husband got her pregnant. They didn't take too well to that, so instead of trying to come up with a plan they just kicked her out. The three of us haven't been back since. No letters, no phone calls, no regret. This is the true story, of how one man taught the world that being different isn't bad, but rather its life changing. My name is Dias. Even though we grew up in the small town of Arlia, we moved on several occasions due to our father's job. He worked as the assistant manager of a special linguistics group. It didn't pay much, but it was enough to keep us in the house until the time came. When Lacour was born, my parents didn't know of his illness until a few years later. He never got along with the kids at school. The teacher couldn't come up with a better solution then removing him from the premises. I've always been there to confront the situation. I tried giving in my input, but they just looked at me as being worthless. The longer I think about it the angrier I get. Very few people have ever tried to tell him that he's different. He knows he is but he can't accept it.

"Lacour let's go inside and have some dinner, ok buddy?"

He's been more of a quiet person for most of his life. When he knows not to talk, he won't do it for hours until being told to. He sees it as a punishment, but at the same time he's gaining trust from it.

"Hey Dias look at the fire! It's so bright and sparkly! Can I touch it?"

"No Lacour," I said, "You don't want to burn yourself."

He continued looking at it until a waitress came up to us and asked where we'd like to sit. I can't complain that I'm working two jobs every week, being able to spend time with him is as good as it gets. Honestly most people enjoy work, but they never take time to think of those who have it worse.

"Would you like a seat by the fire or by the window?" the waitress asked.

I looked over to Lacour who was still sitting by the fire, "I think we'll take a seat by the fire."

"Alright, here is a menu and I'll get some drinks for you."

I thanked her and helped Lacour sit down in the seat.

As we sat down he pointed over to the woman who had passed us earlier. I looked over my shoulder and surely there she was with her dog on the floor resting.

"Don't worry about her buddy, she has no manners."

He laughed and started yelling, "Ha-ha yea no manners, no manners!"

Everyone in the restaurant started looking at him.

I reached across the table and covered his mouth. Usually he'd listen to me but this time it took a bit more to calm him down.

"Lacour you need to quiet down! We don't want to be kicked out of another restaurant." I said with a red face.

Naturally he continued so I had to drag him into the restroom and splash a little water on him.

"Lacour I want you to behave yourself, I hate to do this to you, but I have no other choice."

We went back to the table and our food was there. Normally Lacour had cheese and a few side vegetables; today though he ordered pancakes and apple sauce. He took a few bites of it and started nodding his head back and forth. I ate in silence on my chicken and mashed potatoes. Occasionally I'd glance up to make sure he was eating. As people went and came, Lacour would look at them in wonder and ask them a lot of questions. Some stopped and answered while others kept going. Soon we were both filled; I was surprised that he ate most of the pancakes.

"I'm proud of you Lacour, you did a good job eating. How would you like some ice cream?"

He looked up immediately and tilted his head, "Can I get everything I want on them?"

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "Of course you can, that is if you think you have enough room."

He clapped his hands together. I signaled the waitress over and asked her to bring some desert for us.

"You know you have a really cute brother." She said smiling.

"Lacour you hear that, she thinks you're cute." I said grinning.

He wasn't paying attention at the moment but then looked at her and gave a half smile.

"What kind of ice cream does he want?" she asked.

"Make him something special, your favorite."

She nodded and went into the kitchen.

"So Dias what kind of ice cream am I having!" he asked bouncing up and down in his chair.

"Slow down buddy, it's a surprise. I think you'll enjoy it."

"Oh goody, I hope it has strawberries and chocolate in it!" he yelled.

I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm.

Soon the waitress came back, "Here you go cutie" she said handing the bowl to Lacour. She handed him the spoon and watched in amazement as he sucked down the chocolate.

"That's quite the most impressive eating I've seen before." She said laughing. "By the way, my name is Susan."

I extended my hand out to hers, "I'm Dias, this is my brother Lacour."

She smiled and watched him eat.

"After he's done you may bring us the check." I said.

She continued to stand there looking at me.

I smiled politely and continued eating my piece of cake.

"Are you from around these parts?" she asked curiously.

"Kind of, we're from the country area near Clark."

She shook her head and sat down beside us.

No one else was in the restaurant at this point. The time was 10:32pm and it was about closing time. Susan and I continued to talk as Lacour finished up his strawberry sundae.

"So how long have you been working here?" I asked.

She looked around the room and sighed, "Sadly this is my tenth year here. It's the best thing close I could get to a full time job. After my ex and I broke up he didn't leave me much except $30 dollars and a beat up Chevy truck. I can't say I hate him for making that decision, but ever since then I wondered if my life would get better or not."

I glanced at my watch and continued listening, "Yeah I've been in this town for nearly twelve years, and it's not much, but more then nothing. My first job was at this restaurant. I imagine it was right before you came here, you do look familiar I must say. Anyways my brother and I have had to use what we could. Overall life has been good to us."

She seemed to be soaking up every word I said, for she was easing her way closer. I must say I was quite surprised knowing that we came in here once or twice a week.

By the time we were done talking she was merely inches from me. Not that I felt uncomfortable, but I'm just wondering what made her get so close.

"Well I had better get going; it's past Lacour's bedtime." I said standing up "Thank you for that lovely conversation, we'll have to do it again sometime soon."

Lacour streaked out of the restaurant and stood in the parking lot waiting for me.

"It must be amazing to have such a lovable brother as him." She said walking out with me. "I'm an only child, so I never got to experience the power of a sibling relationship."

"It's nice to think about." I said, "Though at the same time you have to think about what to expect depending on age, health, stuff like that."

She nodded and started to walk off towards her car. "Well if you're not busy sometime this week would you like to go and get a cup of coffee with me?"

I had to think about for a moment while I watched Lacour and finally replied, "Sure, here's my number." I quickly got out a piece of paper and jotted it down and handed to her.

"Thanks Dias, I look forward to talking to you again." She leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek.

And immediately my face went off like a Christmas tree. I watched her take off and wave to Lacour.

"Alright come on buddy we have to get you in bed."

We started walking home, even though it'd take us another twenty minutes it was worth the thought of waiting another couple of days to come back. Lacour however wasn't paying attention at all and ran up ahead of me, his head raised up at the sky looking into the night.

And I thought to myself, "He's alright."


	2. Life Back at Home

Life back at home

By the time we got back the moon was high up in the sky. We live out where there are a lot of farms. So naturally you could always smell the fresh scent of hay or manure. Either way though it's the smell of the country; sometimes I like to come out here when Lacour is being watched by our neighbors and just sit by a small creek that's next to the side of the road. It's nice to think about your family here and there so you won't completely forget them. At the same time you wonder why they kicked you out as well instead of doing the right thing and getting help for him. Most of the time that I'm thinking Lacour would sneak up behind me and pounce on me. I know he doesn't mean to, but there's not a lot you can do to prevent him.

"Dias won't you come in and have some fresh baked cookies? I know how much you and Lacour love them."

"No thank you Mrs. Turner, Lacour and I should be getting home now. He hasn't been getting a lot of sleep lately. Though thank you very much for the offer, and also for looking after him."

She smiled and headed back inside.

"Lacour I hope you behaved yourself, she's doing you a big favor by looking after you."

"Oh you know it! I love to chase around the chickens and cows in the back yard! You'll have to do that with me sometime!"

"Sure Lacour, anything for you. Now it's time to get back, when we get home you'll have to get ready for bed. Tomorrow we may head back into town."

He scratched his chin and yelled, "Ah-ha you like that one pretty lady don't you! She had a pretty dress on!"

"Lacour that's not true, we're just friends! Don't go saying things you know aren't real!"

He ran off yelling that I loved her. I couldn't blame him, for there was something about her that stood out at me…and that was her honesty.

The quiet summer night sky slowly started to get red as the sun poked its head up from the other side of the sky.

"Lacour slow down, we're almost home. There's no need to waste all your energy before we get home, and I'm not carrying you if you fall asleep right now!"

"Dias when we get back will you tell me a bed time story?"

Usually that's the last question I'd expect him to ask because of his mildly short attention span. It took me a few minutes to register that thought into my head.

"We'll see Lacour, if you're a good boy then yes I'll tell you one."

I was going to tell him one before he asked, so it didn't matter.

"Well so much for getting home at night." I said aloud. "I wonder if anyone else will already be awake."

Some of the neighbors were starting to come out as we got back, our next door neighbors; the Sampson's were already sitting out in front of the house. I didn't blame them for the weather was quite miserable for the middle of summer.

"How much longer are you going to keep coming home at this time of the morning? Don't you realize how hot it is out here?" Mr. Sampson complained.

"I don't know what to tell you sir; Lacour over there doesn't seem to be bothered one bit by it."

"Well of course he doesn't notice it; he doesn't notice anything in the first place!"

I hated it when he says those things about Lacour. Yes it's true that he's a bit unaware, but that doesn't mean you have to hate.

"Come on Lacour, let's go get ready for bed!" I yelled out across to him.

"Good riddance son, all we need now is peace and quiet." He whined.

I walked inside the house and went to get a glass of water. Lacour came in and nearly knocked me off but did manage to get the glass. It landed on the floor with a shattering noise.

"Oh Dias look what you did!" he screamed.

"Lacour what the hell is the matter with you? When are you going to stop actiling like such a child?"

Sometimes he wouldn't understand why I was yelling at him. He would laugh sometimes; while others he would start hitting his head and run upstairs into his room. I tried to explain to him that I'm not angry, but rather frustrated.

Instead he just stood there looking at me then the glass on the floor.

"Don't move I don't want you stepping on any glass with no shoes on. " He thought I meant walk towards myself, but I caught him right before he made any moves. "Lacour be careful, you know it's happened before. Do like me and walk backwards, take several steps back."

He laughed and hopped backwards but slipped and fell hitting his head on the ground.

"Ouch! Dias my head is hurting!" he cried.

I ran over and helped him up; there was a blood mark where a piece of glass had gone into.

"Hold still, we have to get this cleaned up before it spreads."

"Before what spreads Dias, my head won't stop hurting! Make it stop!"

I knew it wasn't serious, but it was nothing to laugh about.

"Let's go upstairs quickly and wash it up in the tub."

He sniffed and followed me. Whenever he feels pain or gets hurt, there is that side of him that most people would like to see more of; a side that truly says who Lacour really is. It's hard enough for him to not show much emotion, but why must it come at the worst times?

Slowly I got him into the bath tub; the water temperature was his favorite, steaming warm. He loved to splash me if I was close enough. I was opted to get in with him but he was having too much fun.

"Well Lacour do you want to hear that story?" I asked while covering my face from getting wet.

"Yes…uummm can I pick out which one?" he asked calming down.

"Sure buddy, just make sure you get that red spot on your head cleaned up."

"Ok, let me think for a bit!"

I sat back against the wall and watched him think. Usually when he thinks he comes up with very descriptive thoughts. Sometimes it'd be about things you never talk about while others are about things you don't want to know.

"Alright Dias I know what I want you to tell me! Tell me why mom and dad didn't want to see me anymore…"

I stopped and looked at him, I didn't know what to answer…


	3. The Truth

The Truth

I was always hesitant of the day that he would ask to know the truth. Sometimes I would think about it while others I was too busy to even remember that I had parents in the first place. I pulled up a chair by the tub and started the story.

"Lacour, mom and dad loved you very much. They have since you were born, but they didn't know about your illness until much later on when you were still young."

He sat there with his mouth open that always told me he was actually "listening". Sometimes he flipped the soap up and down while stirring up waves occasionally.

"That's not true Dias! If mom and dad didn't love me they would've told me!"

"I know, but what could I have done to change their minds? They took care and supported both of us…even Dana. There are some things you can't prevent from stopping, they spent days alone trying to figure out where you would go. If I hadn't spoken up then you would've ended up in an institution."

Now he was really curious about what I was saying. It's like he somehow knew what I was going to say and how.

"How come we never go and visit mom and dad anymore Dias?" he asked.

I thought about it long and hard, "Well they don't seem to want us back for a visit. Otherwise they would've called us at some point."

Lacour still hadn't figured it out, but someday I'd tell him.

"Alright let's get you out of the tub for now; I'll finish the story later on."

"What about that one girl Dias that you talked to yesterday…the waitress lady."

"Yes what about her?" I asked impatiently.

"Aren't you going to go see her tonight?"

I was tempted to say I had no idea what he was talking about but I knew he was listening to our conversation. "I'm not sure Lacour, I'll have wait a couple more days before anything significant happens."

"Dias she said she wants to drink some coffee with you! You can't stand her up!"

Obviously I shrugged and got up from the floor going for a towel for him. As he got changed I waited outside. He certainly did have a way with words. Most people who're like him often stutter or take a while to respond. Lacour on the other hand hears what is being said and registers it through his head. He'll respond if he likes what you're saying to him or not. If I hadn't been so caught up in my mind I would've heard the phone ringing.

"Oh shit, Lacour I'll be right back. Don't move from your room until I get back."

By the time I got downstairs the message machine had picked up the call.

"This is Susan calling for Dias; I just wanted to let you know that tonight will be fine for us to meet up. Feel free to call me back or just meet me in town around 8:00, see you then."

I cut her off just as she was about to hang up. "Hello Susan? It's Dias; sorry I was upstairs with Lacour."

"Oh hi Dias, I assume you read most of my message then?"

"Yes, tonight will be fine. Um would it be possible for you to give us a ride?"

I could hear her snickering to herself on the other side of the line.

"Well I don't know; how does Lacour feel about being in cars?"

"He doesn't mind them for the most part if you drive slowly, but I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Alright, what road are you on?"

"We're right past 25th avenue down by the old barn."

"I assume that's mystic drive?"

"That's correct." I said.

"I'll be there in about ten minutes; I'm looking forward to seeing you Dias."

"Same to you Susan, I'll see you in a bit."

She laughed as she hung up. I felt like a fool for some reason.

"Lacour hurry up, Susan is giving us a ride into town with her."

He came running down the steps and nearly had another accident. Fortunately I caught him before he could bang his head against the wall.

"Who's Susan?" he asked curiously.

"Don't you remember Lacour? She's the waitress I talked to last night."

He scratched his head several times trying to pull up a familiar face.

"Ah ok her, what are you two going to do?"

Sadly I haven't thought of what we'd do after getting coffee. If she wasn't going to pick us up I'd have more time to think about it.

"Hopefully she's someone who doesn't like to plan." I said aloud.


	4. Lacour's Charm

Lacour's Charm

As Susan pulled up to the house in her 1984 Cavalier I felt a shaking in my stomach. Never had I felt a feeling like this before.

"Wow a 1984 Red and White Cavalier in mint condition. How many miles to the gallon do you get with that?" Lacour asked convincingly.

"Oh wow I didn't know you were into cars Lacour. I believe this has about 28 or so on it."

I had Lacour sit in the backseat while Susan and I talked on the way to town. It wasn't a far ride, perhaps fifteen minutes.

"Hey Susan! Did you know Dias has been talking about you since we left yesterday?"

She turned red and looked at me with a smile forming on her face.

"Why Dias, I'm quite impressed by your thinking."

I looked back at Lacour and was about to scold him, not for embarrassment, but for speaking about people while they're around.

In a way, Lacour considered himself to be OCD. I remember once while we were in the store I accidentally knocked off a box of toothpicks onto the ground. None of them were lost, and Lacour picked up every one individually. The box said there were 500 in them, and when he was done there were 485. Not only was I upset, but at the same time I was astounded of his amazing math skills.

"So Lacour, where would you like to go for dinner?" Susan asked.

"Why do I have to pick? I thought this was between you and Dias!"

"Hey Lacour do you like to read?" she asked.

Several moments went by without him responding. I looked at him and he seemed fine. Something I've noticed however was his desire to pick up a book and being able to interpret exactly what is being said without reading a single page.

"Buddy, Susan asked you a question." I finally said.

He still wasn't saying anything. By the time we got into town there were a few people going into the restaurant and stores around.

Susan pulled into an empty parking spot and turned the car off. That seemed to bring Lacour back into reality.

"Ah sorry Susan…I do like books, especially ones that talk about my condition!"

She looked surprised and tried to change the topic. "Well um Dias, where would you like to get coffee?"

"Oh I hear that down the street there's a place called The Best Damn Coffee in the whole state, let's check that out."

I jumped out and got to her door before she could open and opened it for her. Dad taught me that manners help to first impressions. I knew that Lacour was capable of getting the door open by him.

"Lacour come on, I'll get you a hot chocolate at the coffee shop!"

"Oh wow Dias you only get me those on special occasions, I think I know what you're up to!" he screamed.

I gritted my teeth in hoping he would calm down before attracting too much attention again. He never had a problem of being the center of attention; the girls never went near him. He's never had a girlfriend, but someday I'm hoping there will be a woman kind and gentle enough to take him into her care for eternity. Not that I won't stop as well, but I want him to experience what I have before…true happiness.

"Dias let's go, I want to get there before it gets too full to get in." Susan said.

It's true that even though the town was small, mostly everyone spent all day there either at the diner or sitting outside enjoying the peaceful weather. I still wore long pants because of all the dust that could be seen around the town. Lacour though chooses to wear shorts and a sleeveless shirt. However on this day I joined him in wearing shorts. Susan on the other hand went to the trouble of wearing a dress.

"Come on guys I can't stand out here all day getting my dress dirty, let's head inside!" she urged.

I didn't argue with her, but knowing we'd be together the rest of the night I'd be ready in case something came up.

When we got inside there was a small line ahead of us. People were scattered around the room, some playing checkers while other's mingled about their daily lives. A few of them I knew. They waved at me when they saw me come in. Susan tried to blend him although she didn't have a huge social life outside her job. My friends understood Lacour more then anyone else in the world. They were never afraid to approach him and start up a conversation. A lot of the time they were always fascinated with his responses and how he came to them. One of them came up and asked how he thought about this weather.

"Well Jim, I think that this won't last too much longer. And if we're lucky this drought will end and we'll get plenty of rain!"

Lacour had a tendency of expanding his voice on the last syllable of a word. It's almost like he was going from low to high in a split second.

I let them talk while the line grew shorter.

"Oh Dias he's such a wonderful person to be around. Has he always been like this?"

"Some people would assume that, others would say his heart is big enough to never go bad. I just treat him like he's normal."

"That's something that most people wouldn't think about…but you can't hide the truth from them Dias. You must lead by example, and not by your words."

Again she was doing her thing of easing closer to me. I was getting the feeling that she was starting to get insistent on wanting something from me. Yet I held my ground and talked.

"Yes I understand that, but as long as he has people around him to encourage him and be supportive then I have no worries or doubts."

She shook her head like I had said something wrong.

I looked over at Lacour who had gone in depth of his explanation of water. He wasn't good at explaining it, but his drawings were amazing. At times I wonder if he'll ever get noticed aside from being autistic. If only people could look inside someone instead of seeing a reflection from false appearances.

"Now if you look at this chart guys you'll see how a heavy cold front is making its way across the plains and heading right for our town. The only thing we should be concerned about is the possibility of a tornado, you know one of those circle and spinning things."

"Wow Lacour, if only we had some people to notice you then perhaps you could get out of this town and have a job of your very own!" Jim said.

"Thanks Jim, but I know that I was born to live here for most of my life. That's why Dias is still taking care of me!"

"You're right buddy, a lot of us have been thinking about giving you a part time job down at my store. How would you like that?"

He stopped what he was doing and looked wide eyed at Jim.

"Oh wows are you serious? Dias did you hear that? Jim said I could maybe have a job!"

I looked over at Jim and walked over to him. "Are you sure about that? He's never really worked before you know."

"Don't give it another thought Dias, I'll be there by his side helping him. What he has going for him right now should be more appreciated, and this is the only possible way I can think of for thanking him. He's a huge data base with so much information that no one else is this town could ever come close to!"

Susan got up to the counter and ordered a latte. I hadn't realized that the line was clear and it was safe to order.

"Well thank you very much Jim, when can he start?"

"As soon as he likes, if he's right about us getting rain soon then he'll love running around in it!"

I shook his hand and went up to the counter and ordered. Susan had already taken a seat at an open table. When I got my drink I headed over to her, though her head was looking down. Something was telling me she wasn't enjoying this very much.

"Hey Susan I know we haven't talked much like we did last night, but now we're ok to. I promise you no more interruptions."

"Well what about Lacour, he won't interrupt us will he?"

"What if he does, I'm not going to ignore him."

"I know you won't, but this is supposed to be about us." She insisted.

"Look Susan I don't want this to have to be a problem, he's my brother and as long as I'm taking care of him he will always come first with me."

I knew as I said that she was getting more impatient. And that her plans were different from mine.

"Maybe this isn't the best time for us to talk."

"No Dias it's either now or never."

I politely smiled and shook my head, "Then Lacour and I shall be heading off now."

I grabbed Lacour's hand and headed out leaving her behind. The guys noticed something was up and caught up with us.

"Hey Dias what's the deal with the girl?" Ron asked.

"It's nothing now, just a random stranger then tried to pull me away from Lacour."

"Wow that's harsh of her." Clark said.

"Well what could I say? That I'd let go of him just to spend a few moments of chatting about things I'm not ready for? Hell no, as far as I'm concerned she has no place for me right now."

"So where are you guys off to now" Jim asked.

"Ah we'll see, maybe we'll go for a walk on the trails just outside of here."

"Sounds good man we'll be here if you need us!" they all said.

I nodded my head and headed out with Lacour by my side.

"So Dias why are we going to the trails?" he asked curiously. "And what about Susan, why isn't she with us?"

"Well Buddy let's say it was a matter of losing you for a while."

"Losing me, but Dias I'm right here, how would you have lost me?"

"Ha-ha I'll explain it some other time. For right now though I want to show you something that you're ready to see."

"So it's a surprise! Do I have to cover my eyes for this one?"

"We'll see; I'll let you know as we get closer."

He laughed and headed off ahead of me into the red sky only to be amazed later on.


	5. Necklace of Love and End of part one

Nearing the Forest & the End

"Wait up Lacour, I'm not as in shape as I was before!" I yelled trying to catch my breath.

We headed up a narrow cliff just outside of town. We weren't in a particularly rocky area, but it wasn't smooth either. All you saw once you left town was flatlands and a few high points. However the place I was taking him too was neither of those. Here and there you could see the trail splitting off into different directions. Most if it I had been on from earlier in my life. Ahead of us was a small stream, the water wasn't sparkling like it had been before. As the years had gone on, all around us the environment began to take a turn for the worse. I know the EPA hasn't responded in years because we don't have the money as a town to keep up with it being clean. This seemed to be Lacour's favorite area to run around in. After you hit a certain point in the trail you came to a wide open meadow where dandelions and chrysanthemums bloomed all year round.

"Hey Dias look at me! I'm running around the meadow!"

Even though he interrupts my thoughts it's nice to know he's still around long enough to witness nature at it's finest that it will be for him.

"Lacour keep heading straight, down that way is an object that is time for you to look at. It's been held a secret for both of us from mom and dad. They figured if we couldn't see them again…that they would give us something to remember them by."

"But Dias, why is it all the way out here?" he asked confused.

"Because Lacour, I didn't want to have the responsibility of keeping it in the house and having you stumble upon it one day not knowing what to do. I want this to mean a lot to you for the rest of your life."

He still looked like he didn't understand, but I just kept walking and hummed to myself. It didn't matter that he wouldn't understand the value of the object but more importantly that he know it wasn't from me.

"So is this like a Christmas gift Dias? Because it certainly doesn't seem like winter out! I've been a good boy at least, right?"

"Of course you have Lacour, but it's not really a present. It's more of a reminder of your existence."

"Like a birth certificate?"

"Even more then that buddy; don't worry, we're almost there."

Whenever someone mentions to him that they have a surprise for him he always gets nervous and anxious because of his condition. I know he can't help it, but it's better not to tell him at the last moment. I hopped over the last stream and sat down below a big brown tree. The leaves were nearly turning red from the seasons changing. The weather on the other hand never ceased to cool down. However Lacour did mention of that big rain storm we're supposed to be getting in a few days.

"Alright Dias where is it!" he asked jumping up and down.

"Wait just one moment and I'll get it out for you, but you have to promise that you'll remember this for the rest of your life because I don't know what else to do with it other then to throw it away."

He tilted his head off to one side and looked at the box in curiosity.

"Are you ready Lacour? Here it is!"

Opening the box contained a necklace with a picture of Lacour and me when he was just born. Then all of a sudden I had an idea and decided to give it to him so he could wear it everyday. It didn't weigh much at all.

"Alright Lacour are you ready for this? I want you to never take off this necklace, never! Mom and dad would be very proud of you right now if they could see us one last time."

"Dias…what would happen if I went to look for them? And you weren't there to help me out?"

"Well…Lacour…that is your choice, not mine. I can't keep you under my wing your whole life. If you feel like you're ready to take the long journey, then I'll help you out as much as I can."

"Gee thanks Dias…someday I'll get out of this town, and maybe get me my own your girl like you almost had!"

I laughed and patted him on the head, "I know somewhere out there is a girl with your name on her."

"You mean there's a girl named Lacour too? Wow I'd like to meet her!"

Again I couldn't help but laugh at him being silly. "Don't worry, you'll understand someday."

I would imagine years passing, each day bringing about a new journey for Lacour. It wasn't like my life with the same routine each day. For him, it was a field trip where he was in control of his actions. Even though they weren't the best for him at the time I know he'd mature quickly; whenever he makes a mistake he usually very good at not making that same mistake again. I can't guarantee that.

"Dias hurries up! We're going to miss the ice cream store!"

"Alright Lacour, you can have any flavor you want."

As we headed back into town I turned around for a second before joining up with him and thought about mom and dad for a bit. I had to remind myself that I was going to be a father sooner or later, and it's like they say…like father…like son. Though I wasn't going to abandon my own son…ha-ha…but one thing that continued to puzzle me…how would they respond to Lacour's arrival?

To be continued…


End file.
